Cheerleaders donned bright tie-dye uniforms. Marching Mountaineers added neon hat bands to their uniforms. The football team showed support in any way they could, whether it be tape around their wrist proudly displaying Preston’s jersey number, a lucky five, or neon shoe laces. Students gathered in every bright color one could imagine.

Senior Kadence Krempges, who is leader of the student section this year, headed this fundraising effort. Recognizing the gravity of Preston’s situation, she also put herself to the task of organizing a show of support amongst students.

However, relief was near immediate when the day came. She was surrounded by a sea of neon in the home student section, and even Rogersville students flaunted their bright colors. By the end of the game, with contributions from both the Mount Vernon and Rogersville students, parents, and faculty, $4,700 had been raised for the Hardyman family. “The amount of support we got from everybody was just amazing and really heartwarming,” Krempges says.

Seeing the results of her efforts brought tears to her eyes. There was a ton of hard work put into the event leading up to it, and to see it all come together the way it did was incredibly rewarding for her. She says, “It was good to know that [the] stuff that I did is going to pay off.”

There was much about the game to love and be proud of. Krempges notes seeing everyone come together to raise money as one of the highlights for her. She describes a “ripple effect” of people pulling dollar bills from their wallets for a great cause. “We had reached over five hundred dollars within the first minute of counting,” Krempges recalls with excitement.

While Krempges is very pleased with the night’s events, there are two people who may have been even more moved by it than her. While Preston had undergone an operation that morning and was unable to see all of it himself, his parents were watching close. His father, Timothy Hardyman, says, “It really made me proud to be from Mount Vernon that evening.”

The family knew of Friday’s events before they came to be. For Preston, this was a game-changing moment for him. While he had expected support from the football team, it was a great surprise to know that the entire student body was aware of his situation and willing to come together for him.

The Hardyman family thanks students, teachers, and the town of Mount Vernon for what they did that night. Though they are relatively new to the area, this has helped them to feel like they are truly a part of the community.

Krempges is also incredibly thankful to everyone who participated and made her hard work come to fruition. She has one final thing to say to Preston: “We are all here for him, and this is going to be a long journey, but we will be here every step of the way. He has countless people [supporting] him and thinking of him and praying for him.”

These are the moments that define Mount Vernon High School. One can confidently say that it was a great day to be a Mountaineer.

In an article written by Joe Heim for The Washington Post, the journalist dives deeper into why newer eras of students seem to be uninterested in the idea of stopping by a locker between classes. Heim presents the idea that a lack of interest stems from the idea that nowadays students simply just want to carry all their stuff with them everywhere they go. “Anyone with a high schooler in their orbit knows that students now want everything they own with them all of the time.” Heim says, “Where students used to swap out textbooks between classes, they now navigate the halls bent over by jam-packed backpacks like Himalayan Sherpas shuffling along without a base camp.”

Assumed as inconvenient, more students are willing to endure that shoulder pain from an overloaded backpack in order to avoid having to be separated from their belongings. The issue of time is also a problem for some locker-using students. The routine of turning a combination from left to right can often take a few annoying tries, leading some to yank on their locker or even give up completely to avoid being late for their next class.

This lack of interest and impracticality raises the idea that possibly lockers are simply outdated. With more classes also offering online resources, heavy textbooks are slipping away, leaving lockers abandoned.

The idea of outdated customs are not just nestled in the hallways of MVHS, but something else sits (literally) in the classrooms. Seating charts. Some teachers at MVHS rely on the arrangement of perfectly sitting students in order to keep their classroom orderly, but has this practice become useless?

In the high school setting, a lot of teachers try to prepare upperclassmen for the college lifestyle. This usually entails a sense of independence among the students. Mr. Parrigon makes the comment that when it comes to younger students, he has had to use seating charts. He says, “I almost always had a seating chart when I taught sophomores and freshmen and 100% of the time my few years as a middle school teacher.”

For some students, seating charts might be necessary. Mr. Parrigon makes the comment, “I don't think that all seating charts are outdated, I know some teachers use them for group work purposes.”

Mr. Parrigon also brings up the idea that whether a class has a seating chart or not, most students fall into the habit of routine. “I have found though, that even though I don't use seating charts students sit in the same seats anyway and get very mad when somebody takes their seats.”

Overall, in the high school setting, there are some things that might be on the path of no longer being needed. From confusing lockers that no longer fit with students’ needs, and seating charts that might be unnecessary, MVHS traditions could be a thing of the past.